Fall Craft Ideas in Utah Valley: The Last Flower Market, Yard Leaves Before the Freeze, Farm Pumpkins and a Year With No U-Pick Apples

Abigail Giordano Senior Writer, Provo.com How we make Provo.com

What changed this fall: Rowley's Red Barn, the orchard and farm stand in Santaquin, says spring frost damage caused a total loss of its 2026 apple crop. There is no u-pick and no Harvest Festival this year, though its Fall Festival and corn maze are running. If your fall craft plans included apple-picking, plan on store apples this year and keep the orchard on your list for next fall.

The rest of the fall craft calendar in Utah Valley turns on one date. NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for the Provo BYU station put the median first freeze on October 21, and the median first hard freeze (28 degrees) on November 1. Before that line, gardens and trees still give you material. After it, fall crafting moves indoors. This page is built around that line.

Before the freeze: last flowers and the brightest leaves

The last weeks of the Utah Flower Market. The market sells flowers from Utah growers every Wednesday at Grove Station, 273 South 2000 West in Pleasant Grove, with public hours from 11 a.m. to noon. Its 2026 season ended October 14. Late-season stems are the ones to buy for drying, because there will be no local flower market again until April. Our Utah Flower Market guide has the details.

1. A dried fall bundle. Hang the last market stems upside down in a dark closet for a couple of weeks. Ask the growers which of the week's flowers hold their color dried. The bundle becomes your table arrangement in November.

Leaves from your own yard. Yard trees are the legal source. The Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest prohibits removing any forest product, a list that includes cones, bark and boughs, without a permit or other authorization, and it bans plant collection in wilderness and developed recreation sites. Drive the Alpine Loop for the color (our fall guide covers timing and the road) and gather at home.

2. A pressed-leaf collection. Pick leaves the day they turn, before a freeze browns them, and press them flat between paper in a heavy book. In a week or two you have material for cards, place cards and window art.
3. Leaf-printed cloth. Brush fabric paint on the vein side of a fresh leaf and press it onto cotton: a tea towel, a pillow cover or a table runner. Cotton by the yard is at The Fabric Mill, 414 East 1400 South in Orem, open Monday to Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
4. A garland of yard leaves and pinecones. String pressed leaves and cones from your own trees on twine for a mantel.

The farm-stand weeks

Late September through October is pumpkin season, and the pumpkin farms are where fall's biggest craft material comes from. A few of the valley's farms:

• Jaker's Jack-O-Lanterns, 950 West 400 South, Springville, listed as open Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., in October 2026. Its reviewers single out the pumpkins.
• Rowley's Red Barn Fall Festival, 901 South 300 West, Santaquin: September 19 to October 30, 2026, weekdays 3:30 to 9 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with admission $12 Monday through Thursday and $15 Friday and Saturday.
• Hee Haw Farms at Oliver's Place, Pleasant Grove, which reviewers describe as having colorful pumpkin displays in October.

Our pumpkin patch guide and fall farm festivals guide cover the rest. Rowley's festival closes October 30, so buy pumpkins for November crafts in October and check each farm's calendar before a later trip.

5. A pumpkin-and-squash centerpiece that lasts. An uncarved pumpkin lasts far longer than a carved one, so paint, decoupage or simply group uncarved pumpkins with dried stems and pressed leaves. It can carry the table from October to Thanksgiving.
6. Apple-print cards, with store apples this year. Halve an apple, dab the cut face in paint and stamp it on cardstock. With no u-pick at Rowley's in 2026, grocery apples do the job.

Halloween crafts, costumes and jack-o'-lanterns have their own page: see our Halloween crafts and costumes guide.

Fire and fall decorations

Fall porches are where crafts and flames meet. The National Fire Protection Association warns that dried flowers, cornstalks and crepe paper are highly flammable and should be kept well away from open flames and heat sources, and that exits should stay clear of decorations. It calls a flashlight or battery-operated candle the safest light inside a jack-o'-lantern. If your fall display uses cornstalk bundles and dried bunches, light it with battery candles or a string of LED lights.

After the freeze: seeds, stitching and paper

Once the garden is done, the craft materials come from what you saved and what the library lends.

7. Seed envelopes for the Seed Library. Let marigolds, sunflowers, beans or other open garden plants dry on the stem, then collect the seeds. The Provo City Library's Seed Library, behind the first-floor reference desk at 550 North University Avenue, takes harvested seeds in its donation bin in an envelope or bag labeled with the plant and the year. Folding and stamping your own envelopes is the craft; the library also has envelopes if you need them. Next spring, families can take up to three packets free, no card needed.
8. 3D paper pumpkins at the library. The library's monthly creator kit for October 2026 was 3D paper pumpkins: a kit of supplies you borrow at the first-floor reference desk and use inside the library. Kits change monthly, so call 801-852-6661 for the current theme.
9. Fall embroidery. The library's "Craft and Chat" evening on October 20, 2026, taught embroidery in the Nelson Attic, with registration. A leaf or acorn motif on a tea towel is a good first piece. For supplies, Heindselman's Yarn and Needlework is at 176 West Center Street in Provo (Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m., open until 8 on Fridays). Our craft nights guide lists the other weekly stitching evenings.
10. A first fall quilt. Cooler evenings suit a long project. Fabric Mill shoppers mention its quilting kits, and our quilt shop guide and quilting guilds guide cover classes and shows.

Harvest markets and the run-up to Christmas

Our makers' markets calendar calls fall the busiest stretch for local craft sales outside Christmas, and it covers the fall shows. Sundance Mountain Resort's autumn Harvest Mini Markets feature "carefully selected artisans and craftsmen," in the resort's words; our Sundance Oktoberfest and Harvest Markets guide has this year's schedule. The Provo Farmers Market runs Saturdays at Pioneer Park through October 31, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., then moves indoors to Provo Towne Centre for its winter market from November 21. The Christmas boutiques guide picks up where it leaves off.

Related Guides

• Fall in Provo: The Autumn Guide
• Craft Stores in Utah Valley After JOANN
• Thrifting Craft Supplies in Utah Valley
• Ward Craft Night Ideas That Work
• Pumpkin Patches and Fall Farms in Utah Valley

Abigail Giordano

Senior Writer

Abigail Giordano is a senior writer at Provo.com covering student life, family resources, and community events across Utah Valley. Her writing focuses on making Provo more accessible and navigable for newcomers, students, and families — the practical guides that help people feel at home faster.

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